Fall of Nations: Cormodagor
LOTR mod, generally covers events between Isildur's fall and the War of the Ring. 24 factions: Dwarves Mostly infantry combat. Dwarves have some of the weakest cavalry, using ponies for light cavalry, and heavier boar-wagons for heavy cavalry duty. Dwarves are highly resistant against missile attack, but have trouble fending off enemy heavy cavalry. Almost all units, with the exception of Dwarven Pikemen, are susceptible to attacks by heavy cavalry, and should avoid them or entrench where possible. link=Ered Luin|23px link=Ered Mithrin|23px link=Ered Engrin|23px *Iron Hills Kingdom :- Very established. Ered Engrin has the full Dwarven roster. These Dwarves are masters of siege warfare, and so should not be ignored. The long existence of the former Kingdom of Rhovanion to their south means that they often can call upon former Rhovanese polities, such as Dale, for help. *Blue Mountain Confederacy :- they start off very weak, but overall can upgrade their units to become very powerful. Halflings, Men and other Dwarves can be attracted to their banners, just like the Celts and Spanish auxiliae of 0AD's Carthage. *Grey Hills Dwarves :- are often more Orc than dwarf. Their units are not very well-armoured, and are meant to be survivalists, fighting defensively. Grey Hill Dwarves are highly proficient if used against Orcs. Weakness: Farming and Supply. Like Orcs, Dwarves are deficient in Supply and Agrononomic research. Humans Humans are by far and large the most numerous of all the races of Middle-Earth and have a whopping 13 factions. As populous as they are, Humans are a mixed bag of nuts. and vary wildly. They're the vanilla-type civ, but must tech up gradually to obtain their best units, unlike the Orcs, Dwarves or Elves who do not need to do so. Edain Edain or "West-Men" refer to those nations formed from the Empire of Númenor, founded by Elros Tar-Minyatur, the brother of Elrond of Rivendell. While Arnor, fully embrace their half-Elven heritage, Umbar completely rejects it, believing that the superiority of Númenorean culture is preferable over that of the Elves. link=Gondor|23px link=Umbar|23px link=Arnor|23px *Gondor :- By far, Gondor is the most developed and powerful among all Human nations, but her units are also amongst the costliest. Nevertheless, the acumen of Gondorian culture and the strength of her arms are well beyond all question. *Umbar :- Although Umbar is technically an "Edain" nation, they are better off known as "Black Númenoreans", and rightfully so: Umbar's units feature a mix between Gondorian and Haradrim fashion, with halberdiers and crossbowmen forming their ranks. The Gondorian heavy ship is shared between Gondor and Umbar. And just like their masters in Mordor, they too use slaves. *Arnor :- Arnor was supposed to be Gondor's equivalent in the north, but no thanks to the Witch-King of Angmar, it has practically disintegrated. What remains of Gondorian rule is derived from the Grey Companies, and unlike Gondor, which uses no mercenaries, Arnor must fall back on the use of her various allies — Dwarves, Elves, Middle Men and even Halflings. Middle Men "Middle Men" or "Men of Twilight" are the Men of Middle-Earth who are not related to the Edain nations. These include the Northman nations of Dale and Rohan, as well as more primitive nations such as those of Dunland and the Lossoth nation. A unique mercenary unit, the Werebear, can be found as a mercenary working for Rohan, Dale, as well as Eryn Galen . link=Dale|23px link=Rohan|23px link=Dunland|23px link=Lossoth|23px link=Isengard|23px *Dale: Dale is all that remains of the former Kingdom of Rhovanion: while Dale does maintain some control over the lands of Dorwinion to the south, her biggest allies however, like Arnor, are Dwarves and Elves. Dale's main draw is her archer units, which are some of the best in the game. *Rohan: Founded by refugees from a failed Rhovanese expedition, who banded together to form a new nomadic peoples call the Eothed, the fledgling nation of the Rohirrim, although related to the men of Dale by blood, couldn't be more different: Rohirrim are cavalry users, and have some of the finest light cavalry Middle-earth has ever seen. *Dunland: Dunlendings are a reclusive lot, and are not as developed as their neighbours Gondor and Rohan, whom they hate, and perhaps rightfully so — some of the actions Rohan and Gondor have taken against the Dunlendings can only be said to be genocidal. *Lossoth: Even less developed than the Dunlendings are the Ice-Men or Lossoth, who live around the Bay of Forochel. *Isengard: Isengard was established by Gondor by allowing Saruman the use of Orthanc, a Numenorean tower built in the southern reaches of the Misty Mountains. For various reasons, Saruman has rallied some of the Dunlending nation to his cause, but is also rumoured to be breeding Orcs, Wargs and Trolls of his own. Haradrim Haradrim or "Southrons" are the peoples who lives in the deep south beyond the southernmost bend of the Anduin. They are generally Humans who have fallen prey to the powers of the nine rings given out by Sauron to Human kings. Like the Orcs, and Mordor, Haradrim are dependent on the use of Slaves. link=Haruze|23px link=Mumakanrim|Mûmakanrim|23px link=Khand|23px *Haruze :- The nomadic Haruze tribes of Near Harad are light skirmishers, and thus are often levied for use as such by Sauron. *Mûmakanrim :- If Haruze form the northern tribes of the Haradrim who live north of Umbar, then the Mumakanrim or "elephant-people" of Deep Harad live more sedentary lives. Troll-Men and Heavy Mumaks form the main part of their forces. *Khand :- While actually part of the Easterling sphere, has a mixed blend of units. Haradrim form the main base of Khand while conventional Easterling forces fill in for the rest. The most important unit of Khand is its Easterling Variag heavy cavalry. Khand however does not use slaves — again, these are sold off to Sauron. Mercenaries, including the Mumak, are shared between Khand and other Southron nations. Easterlings Easterlings do not rely on Slaves that much — most of their slaves are sold off to Sauron and farther beyond. The cultures of the Easterlings can vary. Some tribes live in small nomadic bands that survive on plunder. Others, however, are capable of building magnificent structures and vast cities that thrive of trade and industry. Haerhûn|link=haerhun|23px link=Balchoth|23px *Haerhûn :- is the most developed of the three Easterling nations (if Khand is included amongst them), and actually hosts hardened heavy infantry, and sports medium cavalry. *The Balchoth :- are a group of savage tribes who still rely on the use of chariots in battle. Chariots form the mainstay of their forces, with the Balchoth Wainrider being the apex of their armies. It is not without reason that their more settled neighbours — Dale, and Gondor — have dubbed them the "dreadful" or "fearsome" in their own language ("balchoth"). What is not fearsom however is their infantry — they may carry dangerous weapons like axes and slings, but can still be easily felled, no thanks to their lack of armour. Elves They specialise in stealth, like Goblins and Hobbits, and deal with the one-shot-one-kill doctrine. Elves form the best light infantry - but suffer in close combat situations early on. link=Imladris|23px link=Lindon|23px link=Eryn Galen|23px link=Galadhrim|23px *Imladris :- Elves / Rivendell (relies on some human units?) - resembles Humans more than anyone else. Imladris has some of the most powerful Elven units which are as powerful as those of Gondor. Along these, come a slew of allies: Elves, Dwarves, Grey Company Rangers and even Halflings and Eagles. *Lindon :- Lindon is a naval power, and hosts Dwarven and Human allies. *Eryn Galen :- Unlike the other three factions, the Elves of Mirkwood are fairly reclusive, and are fairly reckless — the unique units of Eryn Galen have lower armour, but a decidedly stronger attack. Eryn Galen is notable for her use of Human mercenaries. *Galadhrim :- The "tree-people" of Lothlórien rely heavily on the use of stealth and the bow. Orcs Orcs are highly suited for rushing. Some factions, like the Goblins, are weaker, but are proficient as stealth fighters and skirmishing. But overall, the 4 other Orcish factions (Gundabad, Minas Morgul and Mordor) do not use stealth, except for a few special units, but instead rely on fast-growing units that rely on fast blitz tactics. With the exception of Mordor, no Orcs use horse cavalry, but instead use Wargs. Wargs are not powerful against infantry, but are highly proficient horse-cavalry hunters. They are useful against even Elven Riders and Human Knights, but perish easily even if fighting against enemy swordsmen. Orcs, being chaotic, have no government unlike the Humans, Dwarves or Elves — they gain no benefit from governments, and they in turn receive no Patriots. Orcs are chaotic by nature, and thus cannot build a Palace to sort out their political disputes, which are usually settled through trial by combat. There is one exception, however, and that is Minas Morgul and Mordor. Unlike other factions, however, they do not research politics. They instead summon Ringwraiths and Avatars of Sauron from the Palace! link=Gundabad|23px link=Goblins|23px link=Minas Morgul|23px link=Mordor|23px Possible factions: *Gundabad :- Upon the destruction of Angmar, the many Orc servants of the Witch-King were scattered far and wide, across the Grey Mountains and the Misty Mountains. Do not underestimate the power of their Wargs, they are probably faster and power dangerous than any one else's. Gundabad is also the sole power capable of creating Dragons and Balrogs. *Goblins :- While they may seem weak and puny, do not underestimate the power of their Ungoliant Archers — or the fact that they can spawn dozens of them at any given time. *Minas Morgul :- The gate-keepers to Mordor, Minas Morgul trains Ringwraith scouts, and is also master of various mercenaries: Haradrim, Easterlings, and Black Numenoreans — not to mention Ungoliants, just like the Golbins. *Mordor :- The bad boy of them all, but that is what you get when you are ruled by what can best be described as a demigod. Mordor has all the vast apparatus of a military machine, relying on Orcs, Easterlings, Trolls, Haradrim ... and even Undead. Category:Cormodagor